1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the non-volatile memory field, and more specifically to a sequential program-verify method for use in a non-volatile memory device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Non-volatile memory devices (such as E2PROM of the flash type) are commonly used in several applications when the data stored in the memory device must be preserved even if a power supply is off. Typically, the memory device includes a matrix of memory cells (for example, arranged in rows and columns according to a NAND architecture); the matrix is partitioned into pages, each one consisting of a block of cells (such as 8) that are read or written at the same time.
The production process of the memory devices includes a series of test procedures, which are used to check their operative characteristics. For example, in a sequential program-verify procedure a predefined data pattern is written throughout the whole matrix. The pages of the matrix are then read in succession and compared with the expected values. Whenever a cell has not been written correctly, the corresponding column of the matrix is rejected as defective. The matrix includes a set of redundant columns, which are used to replace the defective columns.
In the sequential program-verify procedures known in the art, the indication of any defective columns must be output immediately after verifying the corresponding page. Indeed, the result of the verification is available in a latch structure (such as a page buffer), which is used to read the values stored in the page; therefore, if the content of the latch structure was not dumped, the information would be overridden by the reading of the next page.
A drawback of the solution described above is that the sequential program-verify procedure must be suspended (for outputting the indication of the defecting columns) whenever an error condition is detected. As a consequence, the length of the program-verify procedure is strongly increased. This drawback has a deleterious effect on the performance of the production process of the memory devices and then on their overall cost.